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When music icon Prince announced he’d be performing three consecutive shows in Chicago at the United Center as part of his two-year tour “Welcome 2 America,” the fan community and Chicagoans welcomed the news with showers of praise. But controversy has floated around the first concert of the three-night extravaganza, and it is centering on “the Purple One” himself.

The bad news began the night of Sept. 24, when an audience of fans and attendees anxiously waited for Prince to open his show. It was supposed to have begun at 9 p.m. According to a Chicago Sun-Times report, he and his band hadn’t appeared on the United Center stage for almost an hour after the show was supposed to begin.

Shortly after the bewildering lateness, Prince and his band finally took the stage as planned. One attendee of the first show in Chicago, Shonda Dudlicek, offered an alternate description of what happened.

“I don’t understand how everyone said he was late. When I go to a concert, I expect that the time listed on the ticket is when the opening act will come on and that the headline won’t come on until at least an hour or later. That’s the way it’s always been,” she says.

According to Chicago Now Magazine, Prince’s band members were rehearsing backstage and the funk legend himself was hiding in an undisclosed location. Additionally, there were a couple of people in the audience who began to shout profanities and even booed, before Prince took the stage.

“Like with any big show or any big artist, Prince was there. He was just a little late getting on stage,” according to Live Nation event coordinator Megan McKenna. “Things happen. … I believe there were some technical things going on from their end that they were dealing with.”

One other bewildering moment took many attendees by surprise. According to a Chicago Sun-Times report, when Prince’s official set ended — with an assortment of funk-drenched hits, medleys and covers — he decided to do an encore with two more songs. The only issue, however, was that he waited too long to take the stage and half of the audience had already left.

“It did suck that we had to wait so long, and that he didn’t come back on until the lights came up,” said Dudlicek. “Normally that’s a cue that the show is over, and everyone knows that. If there was a problem with the personnel, it should’ve been communicated.”

Nevertheless, the first show of the “Welcome to Chicago” series proved a mixed blessing for many, who expected the main attraction to be precise and focused. As Live Nation event coordinator Megan McKenna stated, “Prince gives an actual show … He did apologize for the lateness, but I think that people made it bigger than what it actually was.”

*Note: This episode was recorded on June 2nd, 2012. Michael Jackson’s commemorative Bad 25 single, “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You/Don’t Be Messin’ ‘Round” is available exclusively at Walmart. Pick it up NOW!

Hello folks!

We are back with a long-awaited episode of Music Talk #2! Here I’m joined by good friend and co-host, Jesse Jenkins. We are getting into alot of stuff on this one…so let’s get the engines running! Enjoy, comment, share and follow. Thanks!

We’re back with a new BrandoSoul podcast! In this particular podcast, we will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of Michael Jackson’s 1987 landmark, Bad. We will be offering in-depth insights about the classic album and era that catapulted Michael Jackson into iconic status. I am joined with special co-host, Jesse Jenkins and new guest, Henry Cooper. All MJ fans and music lovers have to get into this epic special. This is one for the HIStory books! Please enjoy, comment, and follow BrandoSoul!

On this special episode of the BrandoSoul podcast, we are paying homage to the 25th anniversary of the release of Prince’s 1987 masterwork, Sign o’ the Times. Get some popcorn or some other refreshments and enjoy this show. Here I’m joined by special co-host, Jesse! Enjoy, comment, and follow this blog! More exciting stuff to come soon…

Lastly, I would like to give a BIG thanks to Jesse, prince.org, Michael Dean and the FreedomTrain, Peach and Black podcast, Aaron Smothers, Joey Mannarino, and everyone else who have ever logged on this blog and supported it. I highly appreciate it!

Hello people! It is that time of the year where music lovers, DJs, and vinyl collectors come together to dig out rare, collectable and groovy gems. It is a time that people also build friendships and social groups based solely on the different music that they come across on this particular day. Yes, record store day is one of those important days for the music heads. As a matter of fact, Dusty Groove America held its annual record store day last week, in honor of all of the music lovers and collectors, such as myself, and what an enlightening experience it was. I even took a couple of pictures to show how amazing it really was!

Sounds of laughter, conversation, cash registers, and music from studio speakers filled the entire store.

It is a day that has usually gone down as one of the proudest days for music lovers. It has had its share of criticisms from people who are stuck in the ever-changing digital age of today, but it has stood its ground. Record Store Day across America has grown in stature yearly, since the renaissance of vinyl has gotten more exposure in recent times.

As the day went on, the store was filled with crowds of people from the back room (shown here) to the front.

Dusty Groove America continued to pay homage to the music lover by observing the annual holiday with new surprises and unbeatable music gems. When first arriving at the store for the event last week, it seemed as if there was no one was present. The advertisements and flyers that plastered on the walls around the store varied from promotions of upcoming concerts to legendary icons. Thousands of discounted vinyl records, used CDs, cassettes, and DVDs were perfectly stacked in brown cardboard boxes, which sat in wooden containers. After a couple of minutes, the store instantly became packed with anxious music lovers, ready to usher in the celebration.

Everyone was awaiting the opening of Dusty Groove's annual event.

One avid vinyl fan, Robert Williams, 35, declared that he believed that record store day is the best holiday since Christmas. “One thing that I always look forward to every year is record store day as it is so revealing to check out stuff that I wouldn’t normally find in other mainstream music stores. I recently converted to being a vinyl audiophile not so long ago as well, so that is another great thing.”

The hot items of the day were the used CDs, vinyl, 45s, and other miscellaneous items.

When the store opened at 10 in the morning, no one was to be found until the next hour.

As the day winded down, I brought some great items. Can you identify any classics in this stack?

For more information about Dusty Groove America, log on to its internet store at http://www.dustygroove.com or visit the Chicago Store. Great place to visit, especially for music heads and novelty collectors. If you have ever visited this spectacular store or share other information, please comment on this blog post and follow my page. Thanks so much and let real music live!